Page 69 of Wicked Bonds

He rested his chin on her shoulder, his arms still hugging her waist. “How long have you known her?”

“All my life,” she whispered. “She’s my Jay, B. She would never betray me, just as he would never betray you.”

“Yet she’s been working with Osiris,” he pointed out. “Jay would never do that.”

“He would if given the right motivation,” Leela stressed. “If Vera really is working with Osiris, she has a reason. Or maybe he’s compelling her. Regardless, I know it’s not nefarious.” She turned in his arms, her hands going to his shoulders. “Vera would never give the trackers my location.”

Her mind reaffirmed her statements, telling him how adamantly she believed in her friend’s innocence. Their friendship was old and grounded in trust.

Just like the one between Balthazar and Jay.

And if this were Jay they were talking about, he would feel the same. He’d be adamant about Jay’s innocence, too.

“All right,” Balthazar murmured, deciding to respect Leela’s assertions. Part of him was still wary, but he would reserve his judgment for now. “Is it possible any other Seraphim knew about your flat? Have the trackers followed you there before?”

Leela shook her head. Then she shrugged. Then she shook her head again.

“I don’t know. They shouldn’t know anything about it. But they shouldn’t have found us that fast either.” She bit her lip, her attention going to the sky. “I keep wondering if I made a mistake with the outer wards. But I don’t think I did.”

“How do you feel about the ones you made here?”

Her blue-green irises flared. “They’re perfect. I checked them three times.”

“Then we can relax for a bit and see if they hold,” he murmured.

Balthazar had several ideas for how to help Leela properly relax. Starting with giving her something to concentrate on to help calm her mind.

Because right now, her thoughts were scattered and too chaotic to formulate productive answers. All she needed was a little tenderness and a way to release her nerves. Then the rest would fall into place.

A protest began forming on her lips, but he silenced it by pressing a finger to her mouth while his opposite arm tightened around her waist.

“The wards warned us in time, didn’t they?” he asked softly. “You misted us to a new location. Now we’re here. We’re safe. And we can continue what we started.”

Which had originally just been a game meant to tease her until she begged him to fuck her.

But her mental state now required something a little different.

A break of sorts.

Underlined in sensuality.

To help her regain her confidence and focus.

And Balthazar was absolutely the right man for the task.

“Mist us to my bedroom, Lee,” he told her, the demand a test to confirm what he’d suspected—that she already knew where to go.

His vixen didn’t disappoint, her arms encircling his neck as she took them upstairs.

Don’t ask me how I know this is your room. I just do,she thought at him, her mental voice exhausted.

Which further proved how much she needed an outlet for all that confusion and frustration rioting in her mind.

“The only thing I want from you right now is that lacy thong, Lee,” he replied. “Take it off and hand it to me. Then climb up on that bed and spread your legs. The rest can wait.”

Chapter13

Leela